The urge to find a fancy new planning app is strong right now. But I keep coming back to yellow paper and mind maps. Sometimes the boring answer is the right one. What works for you?

"Start with relationships, create pilots, stay anchored to purpose." Tam's three things for leading school change are simple but not easy. buff.ly/ocDX1p0

Forbes list out today from Dan Fitzpatrick on AI podcasts in education. Education Leaders is #3 which surprised me. I talk leadership, not tech. But maybe that's the point. The human questions are often harder than the technical ones. Cheers Dan. www.forbes.com/sites/danfit...

Can you copy a curriculum change from another school and expect it to work at yours? Tam says no. Context matters. Character and culture come first. buff.ly/ocDX1p0

Christmas holidays are for ‘What cupboard spice are you?’ quizzes.

Dr. Tamara Yuill Proctor found that teachers need six months to build the relational trust for real collaboration. Six months. Not weeks. That changed how I think about leading change. buff.ly/ocDX1p0 #SchoolLeadership

May 2026 👀

Thank you. That’s it. That’s the post. To everyone who’s read something I’ve written, listened to the podcast, shown up to a workshop, or just said hello this year, I’m grateful for you. Merry Christmas 🎄

What a way to round off 2025... Check out our final Coaching Done Well podcast of the year will the talented @mattteachcoach.bsky.social, author of Coaching Walkthrus (Teaching WalkThrus) This conversation is a FEAST for anyone involved with coaching in schools!

#NewProfilePic (Been a few years)

Old school internet good times in the comments here youtube.com/shorts/A6VwU...

Recording this episode meant sharing a pretty vulnerable moment from my early leadership days. Sometimes the best teaching comes from our mistakes. buff.ly/GM9Qiku

Your two weeks at Christmas won't fix your year. Vacation wellbeing returns to baseline within 7 days of going back to work. The length of your break doesn't change the fade-out. Regular recovery > rare recovery.

"I don't know. Here's how I'll find out. Here's when I'll get back to you." Three sentences that build more trust than pretending you have all the answers. buff.ly/GM9Qiku

To have someone who believes in you no matter what is a privilege. The last 2 years working independently have had highs (meaningful work) and lows (finances 😳) but through it all, Emma has been right there beside me. Grateful for you. Happy Anniversary Emma, my world.

Can you guess what the most used word on the podcast was this year? No surprises here 😅

I broke a colleague's trust in one conversation and never repaired it. Took years to build. Gone in minutes. Here's the framework I use now to build character trust fast (even when I don't have all the answers): www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9TA...

Stop saying "I'll think about it and get back to you." Instead: walk people through your thinking, what you're weighing up, when you'll decide. Transparency builds character trust fast. buff.ly/GM9Qiku

Emma organised my bookshelves by colour last month. Chris Scorer disagreed. Publicly. While Emma was watching the LIVE show. Her response: "If you don't know the colour of your book, you haven't looked at it closely enough" The dinner invitation is officially in jeopardy. youtu.be/IZjESZDqNv4

Which breaks faster: trust in your competence or trust in your character? Competence breaks slowly. Character shatters instantly. Once you understand this, you know exactly where to focus. buff.ly/GM9Qiku

I broke someone's trust in an instant by sharing concerns with my line manager who then repeated them. Years of relationship building, gone. Taught me everything about character vs competence trust. buff.ly/GM9Qiku

Thanks Jessica Wise and Jim Knight for including featuring our interview as one of your 2025 favourites. What an honour! #ChangeStartsHere buff.ly/vqThaqm

School leaders in China: when did you last get proper face-to-face PD? Running a two-day coaching workshop in Shanghai. Feb 27-28. 12 spots. Actual practice, not just theory. If you keep giving answers instead of asking questions, this is for you. leadingasacoach.eventbrite.co.uk

Question for school leaders: when your staff resist your new initiative, are they being difficult? Or are they just remembering the last three that failed? We're wired to resist change anyway. Add trauma from broken promises and resistance looks pretty rational. #Leadership #EduSky

Loved chatting through the headlines this week with Paul and John. And cracking BANANAS too!

Got that one mate who won't shut up about strategic planning? The leadership nerd in your life? Our book might shut them up for a bit. Or share this so they can drop hints. buff.ly/QfubMuw

Education Leaders grew faster than 95% of podcasts in 2025. Got shared more too. If you've hit play or sent an episode to someone, that's why. Appreciate it. #EduSky

I'm running a two-day coaching workshop in Shanghai (Feb 27-28). 12 spots. 80% hands-on practice. Real feedback. 25% of tickets are already gone. Early bird pricing ends at Christmas. Link: leadingasacoach.eventbrite.co.uk

Applications close December 15th for the Education Leaders Intensive. 10 weeks. 25 leaders. Asia to Europe. Systematise the fundamentals so you can focus on the leadership that matters. Starting January 21st. Want in? DM me this week. buff.ly/SpV1CI1

Applications close December 15th for the Education Leaders Intensive. 10 weeks. 25 school leaders from Asia to Europe. Systematising the fundamentals so you have space for real leadership. Starting January 21st. Message me if you want to talk about joining.

75% of change fails because when things get difficult, we revert to short-term thinking. The solution requires discipline, not motivation: buff.ly/h4NvymB

Recording this made me think about how many brilliant leaders I've watched go from passionate and purposeful to cynical and exhausted in three years. It's not about ability: buff.ly/h4NvymB

I'm trying something new: putting leadership tips on YouTube to see if it's useful for people. First one's on why leaders stay stuck firefighting for years (and how to break the cycle). If you find this format helpful, I'll keep making them. Let me know? youtu.be/Xk9EowiFjEw?...

One thing. Not ten. One thing a week that moves you towards long-term priorities. That's how you maintain forward motion in chaos: buff.ly/h4NvymB

I'm trying something new: putting leadership tips on YouTube to see if it's useful for people. First one's on why leaders stay stuck firefighting for years (and how to break the cycle). If you find this format helpful, I'll keep making them. Let me know? youtu.be/Xk9EowiFjEw?...

This isn't just about being overwhelmed. It's about making a choice to let short-term urgency dictate everything. That's uncomfortable, I know. But we need to talk about it: buff.ly/h4NvymB

Huh?

I've lost count of how many times a leader emails me: "Shane, I can't think about three years from now because I don't know how I'm getting through next week." Things never calm down. New ep: buff.ly/h4NvymB #SchoolLeadership

Change isn’t just process—it’s emotion. ❤️ @shaneleaning.com & @efraimlerner.bsky.social break the model into 8 stages, weaving in alignment, connection & learning. Sustainable improvement means leaders must care as much as they plan. Blog link: wp.me/p9tOLc-ED 📰 open.substack.com/pub/pkainswo...

Some news about Work Collaborative. Starting 1 November, Work Collaborative becomes the not-for-profit arm of Education Leaders Ltd. This formalises the structure around work that Efraim Lerner and I have been building since we co-founded this movement. 🧵

Mind = blown youtube.com/shorts/EMV0V...

Simply awful advice from Alex Hormozi. Just because it works doesn’t mean it’s right. My number one advice to businesses in the US who won’t hire based on accent: Open your mind! youtube.com/shorts/k-Y-H...

Really excited to welcome JP to the Education Leaders Intensive founding cohort. System leaders, principals, department heads - all brilliant at their craft, all drowning in leadership basics. 10 weeks of deliberate practice. A couple of spots left for January. buff.ly/6y5oh2g

Honoured to to have our book and ideas featured in @pkainsworth.bsky.social's latest substack. #ChangeStartsHere buff.ly/TD1vmxO

🚨 New blog alert 🚨 Change is never simple—but it can be sustainable. In my latest post, I explore lessons from Change Starts Here by @shaneleaning.com @efraimlerner.bsky.social what they mean for schools. Read here 👉 paulkainsworth.wordpress.com/2025/11/30/c... or open.substack.com/pub/pkainswo... 🧵

Applications close December 15th - just two weeks left. We close early because every case study in the programme comes from actual participant contexts. Takes time to build that properly. Few spots remaining. DM if you're interested. www.shaneleaning.com/intensive

Someone shares a struggle. Your mouth opens. Advice comes out. But did they ask for it? Try: "What would be helpful right now?"They might want input. They might just want to be heard. Let them tell you which.

AI is getting weird. Just got sent this…

How do you know if you've moved from healthy accountability into toxic control? Sam and I unpacked this and it got me thinking about my own practice. buff.ly/AmNrpoo

Quick fixes in schools are like payday loans. Immediate relief, but the interest compounds. Each initiative spends trust. Parents notice. Teachers notice. Before long, your crisis response becomes the crisis.